May 16, 2014

Although a blond Muslim Russian-speaking billionaire sounds like the ultimate Hollywood blockbuster bad guy, at the moment Rinat Akhmetov is against the separatists in eastern Ukraine (although his long-range goals may be obscure). So that makes him Our Man in Donetsk and by definition a good guy.

Is he "aganst the separtists" or is he freeing separatist resources from needing to be in Mariupol so they can go elsewhere?

His actions can go either way and are probably intended to do both, because the money power always plays a double game to ensure that events go for its side no matter what..

Rinat Akhmetov was the money behind Yanukovich and the Party of Regions.

The anger in East Ukraine and Crimea is completely understandable when you consider that the government they elected has been overthrown by force twice in ten years by the Timoshenko clique. What is not understandable is how a country such as America, founded on the principle of rebellious self-determination, is now utterly against self-determination and for the farce of the "sanctity of borders", as if lines on a map are more important than the happiness of the people they corral.

First, the miners are against independence and definitely against Russian annexation. Russia is filled with coal mines that are unprofitable, and their pensions guaranteed by the Ukraine state would simply vanish. They also note that Ukraine's industrial sector needs coal while much of Russia's runs on Natural Gas or oil for electricity.

Next, Putin has called for a period of reconsideration and allowing the Ukrainian Presidential elections to go ahead.

What Putin Wants: a federalized Ukraine that he can do business with, and that he influences and controls but does not have to occupy. Significantly, reading through the lines at the FT and RT, Putin knows the Donbass region is for annexation but most of the rest of Eastern Ukraine is not, even though they don't want the current group of Western Ukranians running things. Both cities in the South and close to the Russian border have so far held fast to Ukranian identity not Russian annexation.

Much of that is economic -- factory workers and teachers and everyone else tied to industry and government in Kiev figuring they'd be broke and helpless with Russian annexation. These are the guys who would likely starve and take up arms against Putin should he simply annex them. Donbass by contrast is mostly dependent on Russia, so they have little to lose unlike even most of Eastern Ukraine.

His military has apparently told Putin that Crimea was one thing, Eastern Ukraine another, they can certainly take it but holding it will be more expensive than Putin wants for now. Besides they'd be short parts for their helicopters, subs, and tanks, all manufactured in WESTERN Ukraine and thus a giant headache.

If Putin wanted to annex Ukraine right now, would he be pressing the EU to use its influence on Ukraine to settle the dispute over the unpaid Natural Gas bill and future terms?

Of course, Putin can see things spinning out of control. There are independent guys in Donbass and other regions itching for independence, which is a nightmare for Putin. Its one thing for Transniester to be a nominally independent, Russian-run enclave, away from Russia. Its another thing to have it right on the border and be essentially a poorly run Mafia mini-State with all sorts of hidey holes for Putin cronies who fall out of favor.

The last thing you want as Putin is a place right on the border thats so corrupt and lawless that your enemies can find refuge there. Drone attacks are all well and good in treeless deserts and mountains in the ME and Central Asia, try doing that in densely wooded areas where its foggy and cloudy half the time.

As per the people's mayor of the rebel town of Slavyansk (link in Russian), 650 pro-Kiev fighters were killed, wounded or captured during the period from May 2nd to May 12th. According to him that includes 14 people from Greystone, 50 people from Academi (formerly known as Blackwater), 25 people from CIA and FBI, 13 of whom were killed, and 6 people from a Polish company called ASBS Othago, which was founded by the current minister of internal affairs of Poland.

Yes, I know that all sides in most wars exaggerate their enemies' losses while undercounting their own. I'm just reporting what that guy said.

The Donetsk People's Republic has adopted a constitution. It's more conservative than the Russian one. For example, it says that human rights begin at conception and describes Orthodoxy as the primary and dominant faith of the republic.

The commander of the rebel forces severely criticized Putin years ago from the Russian nationalist perspective. I don't know what Putin's exact involvement in these events is. I wouldn't be very surprised however if this rebellion had nothing to do with him. It could simply be a Russian nationalist revolt.

"How can I win over the Russian Nationalists of Donetsk? I know! I'll appoint, as satraps to rule over them, Tatar and Jewish kleptocrats, some of whom fled to Israel to avoid prosecution for their crimes!"

The commander of the rebel forces severely criticized Putin years ago from the Russian nationalist perspective. I don't know what Putin's exact involvement in these events is. I wouldn't be very surprised however if this rebellion had nothing to do with him. It could simply be a Russian nationalist revolt.

Pavel Gubarev and other leading figures of the Donetsk Republic are described in many places on the interwebs as having been at least one time Russian Neo-Nazis and part of the Russian National Unity Party of Alexander Barashkov. Barashkov was the man on the other end of the line taped by SBU talking to one of the Donetsk referndum organizers.

Its is also interesting to see that the bogeyman of the moment, Dimitry Yarosh of Right Sector embraces Russian Nationalism for Russians within Russian lands as a parallel to his own Ukrainian Nationalism, and openly brags of having Russian Nationalist supporters helping him with his own movement.

It would seem that Right Sector and Donetsk Republic have far more in common than they do in differences, and would not surprise me in the least that there is some sort of tacit understanding between them.

The real violence against Donetsk Republic is coming from the Timoshenko faction of Ukraine, which has Parubiy (of Svoboda) and Turchinov (formerly of the SBU and part of Fatherland party) who were instrumental in the Maidan Self-Defense and have converted them into the Ukrainian National Guard, and Kolomoisky their money font and the billionaire organizer of the Dnipro Battalion death squad, and other unsavory characters. The Ukrainian Parliamentary inquest into the sniper killings in Kiev Maidan of police and protestors all but accused this faction of performing them.

"Mr. Muhammad's teaching about how the white man had been created led me to Findings In Genetics by Gregor Mendel. (The dictionary's G section was where I had learned what "genetics" meant.) I really studied this book by the Austrian monk. Reading it over and over, especially certain sections, helped me to understand that if you started with a black man, a white man could be produced; but starting with a white man, you never could produce a black man-because the white chromosome is recessive. And since no one disputes that there was but one Original Man, the conclusion is clear."

SFG said: What's best for America is to stay out of this f***ing mess and not blow any more of our blood and treasure.

Hunsdon said: Hear him!

Andrew said: What is not understandable is how a country such as America, founded on the principle of rebellious self-determination, is now utterly against self-determination and for the farce of the "sanctity of borders", as if lines on a map are more important than the happiness of the people they corral.

What is not understandable is how a country such as America, founded on the principle of rebellious self-determination, is now utterly against self-determination and for the farce of the "sanctity of borders", as if lines on a map are more important than the happiness of the people they corral.

Back in the day, there was this little skirmish called the American Civil War.

As per the people's mayor of the rebel town of Slavyansk (link in Russian), 650 pro-Kiev fighters were killed, wounded or captured during the period from May 2nd to May 12th. According to him that includes 14 people from Greystone, 50 people from Academi (formerly known as Blackwater), 25 people from CIA and FBI, 13 of whom were killed, and 6 people from a Polish company called ASBS Othago, which was founded by the current minister of internal affairs of Poland.

Yes, I know that all sides in most wars exaggerate their enemies' losses while undercounting their own. I'm just reporting what that guy said.

Baghdad Bob has found his true vocation working for Russian separatists in Ukraine.

Here is my recommendation to Princeton about what it can do to get more women into STEM.

"...STEM could thus do with a Hollywood makeover. HBO did a series on "brogrammers" in silicon valley. Now that's a great start.

The Big Bang Theory is obviously perpetuating the stereotype of highly intelligent ,but sexually impotent, males. Shows like this need to end. Imagine if Hollywood cast a new Harrison Ford as a "brogrammer" who goes off to fight Nazis who have concocted some super computer virus that only affects Jewish computers. Our hero will be a handsome Jewish man who rose early to fame for solving P=NP. He went into early retirement but is called back into action by the president of Harvard, who has learned of band of Nazis who have sequestered themselves in a hidden and barren cave in the far East of Siberia.

Coinciding with rise of the Nazis in the far East of Siberia is Putin's persecution of gays, and so our hero will have to fight his way through legions of homophobic Russian to reach the Nazis in the far East of Siberia. Sarah Palin suggests that our hero cross the Bering Strait to reach Siberia, but of course what would a WOMEN like her know about foreign policy?"

It's May 17th, Norway's Constitution Day... which Norwegians approach roughly a thousand times more seriously than Americans approach the 4th of July.

And today is the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Norwegian constitution in 1814, so it's essentially Norway's bicentennial (although the country spent the next 91 years in a "union" under the Swedish crown until 1905).

The iSteve universe might find this children's music video marking the occasion interesting. It's filmed in the room where the constitution was signed in 1814, and the kids are singing "til Dovre faller!" (until the Dovre mountains fall!)...

Norway will be united until the mountains fall.

It shows some healthy Scandinavian patriotism that you would never see in neighboring Sweden... with an unfortunate mix of American "musical" influence:

They can in Canada. It's quite common for childless middle-aged professional women to adopt. A friend of ours (a successful academic) was considering a Chinese adoption, but pulled out at the last minute. Probably a good idea.

What is not understandable is how a country such as America, founded on the principle of rebellious self-determination, is now utterly against self-determination and for the farce of the "sanctity of borders", as if lines on a map are more important than the happiness of the people they corral."

Whiskey: and their pensions guaranteed by the Ukraine state would simply vanish.

Not true. Russia is now paying pensions and state salaries to Crimeans at Russian rates, which are much higher than Ukrainian rates. Remember, Ukraine is still being looted by the oligarchs the way Russia was before Putin came to power.

"even though they don't want the current group of Western Ukranians running things. "

Nuland, Kolomoysky and Yatsenyuk are not Ukrainians of any kind. West Ukrainians running things would be an improvement.

"Both cities in the South and close to the Russian border have so far held fast to Ukranian identity not Russian annexation."

Not true. Both of the rebel regions - the Donetsk and Lugans oblasts - are bordered by Russia.

"Much of that is economic -- factory workers and teachers and everyone else tied to industry and government in Kiev figuring they'd be broke and helpless with Russian annexation. "

Russia has a much higher GDP per capita than the Ukraine. Higher salaries too.

"These are the guys who would likely starve and take up arms against Putin should he simply annex them. "

Hilarious. The Ukraine is facing EU and IMF imposed austerity. Its "benefactors" are close to bankruptcy. Russia is solvent.

"Besides they'd be short parts for their helicopters, subs, and tanks, all manufactured in WESTERN Ukraine and thus a giant headache."

Not true. Western Ukraine is poor and rural. All the industry is in the east.

"The last thing you want as Putin is a place right on the border thats so corrupt and lawless "

You can't get more corrupt and lawless than oligarch-run Ukraine. Either independence or Russian annexation would be an improvement.

What is not understandable is how a country such as America, founded on the principle of rebellious self-determination, is now utterly against self-determination and for the farce of the "sanctity of borders", as if lines on a map are more important than the happiness of the people they corral.

Back in the day, there was this little skirmish called the American Civil War.

Israel's problem is they get held to the 'white' standard--Arab countries do all sorts of awful things all the time.

Of course, they also get away with crap like the USS Liberty, so I suppose it evens out. Personally I just figure they ought to be treated like any other country (AIPAC should be forced to register as a foreign agency and so on). I mean, if there's any ethnic diaspora that can raise the money for foreign aid through private channels (ie rather than taking it out of the US Treasury)... ;)

Israel is the world's only white ethnostate (Judenstaat, defined by descent not religion). Attacking that is attacking the future of any similar ethnostate for your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

You can't have it both ways. Don't expect the other guy to take the moral high ground if you don't? If Europeans don't decide to get past their grudge against the Jewish people, why should any of the Jewish people decide to get past their own (justified) grudges against the European goy?

It takes two to tangle, and it takes two sides to forgive and make a binding deal to secure the future of their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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Google Wallet works from both a website and a smartphone app (Android and iPhone -- the Google Wallet app is currently available only in the U.S., but the Google Wallet website can be used in 160 countries).

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